Penguins Trade Rumors: 3 Trade Candidates in 2026

The Pittsburgh Penguins enter 2026 with a 17-12-9 record, good for 12th in the Eastern Conference, and three points out of a playoff spot. President Kyle Dubas has already been busy tinkering with his roster this season, and expect to see much more of the same in 2026.

Here's three trade candidates who will be moved next by the Penguins:

Stuart Skinner

The Penguins did well to move Tristan Jarry and not have to retain any of his salary for the next two seasons. Dubas also managed to land a second-round pick and two trade assets he can flip, including Skinner. The veteran netminder isn't in the Penguins long term plans and they'll be moving forward with Arturs Silovs and Sergei Murashov once the trade deadline hits. Skinner will be attractive to some contenders as a backup or third option, just based on the fact he's played in back-to-back Stanley Cups. However, it's been a rough year that keeps getting worse as Skinner's posted a 1-3-0 record with the Pens, along with a 3.36 goals against average and .869 save percentage. 

Brett Kulak

Kulak wasn't someone the Oilers wanted to move but they had to in order to make the finances work for landing Jarry. Kulak's a vet, he keeps the game simple, and he's a hard-nosed defensive defenceman. So far with the Penguins, he's averaging 19:21 of ice-time, has chipped in with one assist in seven games, and is being used as a depth penalty killer. Look for Dubas to flip both of his Oilers acquisitions over the next two months.

Anthony Mantha

The Penguins are going to sell high on Mantha, as the pending unrestricted free-agent forward is having a bounce back year in Pittsburgh. Mantha's scored 14 goals and 27 points in 38 games this season, is averaging 15:25 of ice-time per game. At $2.5 million AAV he's a reasonable cap hit, but they're performance bonuses on his contract for games played milestones, which makes things a bit trickier. Regardless, look for Dubas to sell high on the 31-year-old and land another 24/25 year old NHL ready talent, much like we saw out of the latest deal with the Blue Jackets to acquire Yegor Chinakhov.

Photo credit:  Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images